Data in the News is part of TeachingWithData.org, a portal of teaching and learning resources for infusing quantitative literacy into the social science curriculum in both K-12 and Post-Secondary settings.
Here, we highlight current events and news articles and the data they reference.

Making Educational History

According to a recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. has reached its highest level of educational attainment since the 1940s. As of 2016, more than one-third of the American population of adults over 25 years old has a bachelor’s degree or higher. Now 33.4% of the population, this number has grown significantly from 4.6% in 1940 and a staggering 3.4% since 2010.

The data also reports that it is Asian and non-Hispanic white populations that are more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher – over 10% more likely than African American and Hispanic citizens. Furthermore, it appears that native born are more likely to have a bachelor’s degree than foreign born, but by a small margin (33.6 percent vs. 32.4 percent).